Two guinea pigs that endured months of suffering at a PetSmart store in Nashville, Tennessee are now living the good life in a loving home, thanks to animal activist group PETA, who rescued and re-homed the pair in conjunction with an investigation into the pet store chain.
An eyewitness for PETA discovered Duke and Bogart living in tiny tanks in the PetSmart store. They both had ongoing health issues that went untreated. Duke had a chronic eye infection and Bogart had an abscess on his back. Managers at the store refused to seek veterinary care for the two guinea pigs, or any of the other animals in their care, simply so they could keep costs down and receive bonuses.
Luckily for Bogart and Duke, the eyewitness rescued them from this life of suffering, and they were adopted by a loving guardian.
“Thanks to PETA, Duke and Bogart finally have the respect and happiness that they deserve,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “It’s a joy to see them playing, snuggling, munching on fresh food, and simply getting to live as guinea pigs should at last.”
Metro Nashville Animal Care & Control (MACC) used evidence collected by PETA to launch their own investigation. Officials searched the Nashville store and seized six sick and injured mice and guinea pigs. They opened a criminal investigation and filed cruelty charges against three store managers, who all pleaded guilty.
All three were required to do community service and cover the veterinary care and ongoing costs for the sick animals – totalling $16,156.
Along with rescued guinea pigs Duke and Bogard, the store was responsible for a critically ill guinea pig named Townes. Townes had an abscessed knee joint and a serious infection that had spread throughout his body. Unable to stand or even sit upright, the manager refused to take him to a veterinarian, saying, “I’m not going to take it to an emergency vet to get put down. ‘Cause if you take it to the emergency vet, you’re gonna pay an extra $200, $300. There’s no point in me paying that for a $15 animal.”
PETA’s eyewitness in the store personally took Townes to a vet, who advised that euthanasia was required to end his suffering.
The Nashville PetSmart wasn’t the only store found to be negligent. Further outlets in Brandon, Arizona and Peoria, Arizona were found to have similar shocking attitudes towards the welfare and wellbeing of animals. During Thanksgiving and Christmas, stores cut costs by not providing staff to care for the animals – in spite of the fact that many of them were unwell and needed regular medication.
These are just several examples from many of the horrific cases of suffering ongoing at PetSmart stores. One manager even admitted that PetSmart is “a horrible place for animals.”
While PETA is still working on exposing the ongoing cases of abuse inflicted by PetSmart and their employees, Duke and Bogart have a fantastic new guardian who even takes them for picnics in the local park and enjoys movie nights on the couch with the spoiled twosome.
Poor little animals. Can not understand that anyone can do such things to animals. Good them finally got well. Thanks to those who saved them.
Cruelty is terrible, animals should be loved and protected.
Stop utrpeniu zivych tvorov! Zvierata nie su nase na hranie, na obluekanie, na jedenie…! Su ako ludia, citia rovnako, len inak vyzeraju ako my, to vsak neznamena, ze sa k nim budeme spravat ako k veci!
Prosecute and close down the section that deals with live animals. They can sell their products and keep it at that.
don,t buy any animal and he should suffer losses. Then he will pull down his shutters.
Regular check ups and medical treatment should be part of the stores policy – they should not sell people sick animals in the first place. Who would want to go to a store and buy damaged goods. Just the fact that they don’t or can’t afford good care for their animals is enough to know that the chains have too much overhead and should not be allowed to have or keep live animals around for sale.
Thank you for this article. I will let Petsmart know that I will no longer be shopping there for my 6 cats until they have an acceptable national set of standards for animals in their care at all of their stores. And until they don’t incentivize animal neglience and abuse.
What is wrong with these places to be so cruel to innocent animals? There is no excuse for this horrible kind of behavior.
Glad they were rescued from the horrors of life in a store … sick, ill, uncared for. Sadly too many animals in stores are in horrible plights of neglected care and attention and desperately in need of quality veterinary attention. Whenever you see such, please report it –
NASHVILLE AIN’T THE GODLY PLACE EVERYBODY SEEMS TO THINK IT IS! I HAVE PROOF OF OTHER LIES AND SHT THAT GOES ON THERE, ESPECIALLY BY THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AND GARTH ASS BROOKS! HE’LL DO ANYTHING FOR A BUCK INCLUDING TELLING THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS TO NOT COPYRIGHT ANY NEW MUSIC BUT SEND IT TO HIM AND HIS POSSE FIRST SO THEY CAN CLAIM IT AS THEIR’s! HAPPENED TO ME! YES A FEMALE! CLOSEST TO THE HOLY GOD SPIRIT! HE’s A LIAR, FAKE AND A FRAUD! TIME’s UP BROOKS! YOU’RE DONE!
PEOPLE NEVER SHOULD BUY ANIMALS FROM A PET STORE, ETC. THEIR SUFFERING BEGINS WAY BEFORE THEY GET TO THE STORE! SO MANY ARE IN ANIMAL SHELTERS READY TO FIND THEIR FOREVER HOMES!
Brilliant news. Well done. Sorry about Townes.
Bravo, PETA!
So happy for Bogart and Duke having picnics in the park. So sad that Townes did not make it. Love these guinea pigs ! Love the happy photos. Please rescue more guinea pigs who need help ! Thank you !
save them
Thank you to all who cared!!!!!
Thank you PETA.
Petsmart donated all kinds of food and supplies for the nonprofit rescue group I volunteered with for 4.5 yrs. The issue lays with the management, unfortunately the unconcerned behavior has put the guinea pigs in harms way & now Petsmart needs to address this approriately. Fortunately they are safe now and things will get better.
I have 5 fur family and do TNR as a volunteer in NYC,all which requires many supplies /food/equipment, etc———Petsmart will get NO MORE of my money!!! Horrible humans!11
Not another penny for anything! I have 5 fur family and do TNR in NYC which all require many dollars in supplies…I’ll buy elsewhwere, you HORRIBLEhumans!!!!
Bravo for Duke and Bogart, and for PETA for being vigilant. I am sorry that poor Townes suffered so badly that he had to be euthanized. A big thank you to MACC for pushing for prosecution so that the negligent store managers got a taste of what their negligence cost. Poor little guinea pigs. All they did was suffer the indignity of winding up in hell, er PetStupid. I think I will boycott them. They do not have a good business model, IMHO. Adopt, don’t shop.
Every one of my dogs and bunnies have been rescue pets.
Good for GP’s!!!! Bad for PetSmart!!
I’m so glad these babies are safe and healthy now. I just wonder how many more animals at pet stores are suffering, though.
Shame on you PetSmart ..if only people would stop buying these poor Animals in the first place then there would be no PetSmart etc
This PetSmart should be closed down immediately.
Only animal lovers should work with animals. It makes sense. Glad they were punished.
I’m so glad those two guinea pigs were rescued and their abusers exposed and charged at Pet Smart.
This is how all animals should spend their lives. In sunshine in a lovely park and eating strawberries.
Thank you for making small friends happy.
Shame on Pet Smart. Those employees who are cruel to the animals under their care should themselves be treated thst way.